Earlier
this year, I wrote about the Mexican presidential elections and the massive
wave of protests they inspired. Yet in his first few months in office, Enrique
Peña Nieto has taken impressive steps that have led many to be cautiously
optimistic for Mexico’s future. Despite the ongoing drug war, which saw an
equal number of kidnappings under Peña Nieto as under his predecessor in the
same period, the new president has enacted educational reform, arrested a
famously corrupt teacher’s union leader, made a cross-party “Pact for Mexico,”
and brought privatization of the state oil company PEMEX to the table. He has also initiated an investigation into the over 27,000 people
who were “disappeared” during Felipe Calderon’s presidency.
"La Maestra:" Elba Esther Gordillo, teacher's union leader arrested for embezzlement
Although
there are still major obstacles to Mexico’s recovery from the past bloody
decade, good news economically means that the country might be equipped to move
on from the drug war. In a recent New York Times article, famed writer Thomas Friedman claimed that Mexico is likely to go head to head with India and
China for economic predominance in the coming decades. An impressive growth
rate of 3.9 percent coupled with booms in Foreign Direct Investment and
manufacturing have led to Mexico producing more manufactured goods than the
rest of Latin America combined[1].
Peña
Nieto’s apparent willingness to tackle the major problem of corruption in
Mexico’s organizations should further aid Mexico’s development: creating jobs,
giving people an option besides working in the drug trade, and keeping kids in
school and off the streets. The multipartisan “Pact for Mexico” vows to take on
the infamously corrupt oil industry, teacher’s union, and security apparatus.
The arrest of Elba Esther Gordillo, who led the National Union of Education
Workers for 23 years, marks an important step in this direction. Ms. Gordillo
or “La Maestra” as she is known in Mexico allegedly embezzled 2 billion pesos
or $156 million from her organization from 2008-2012. Her taste for high-end
items like designer clothes and jewelry has long been a sore spot for the
population, who cannot understand how a public servant could afford such
things. Other officials have taken
notice of the seemingly untouchable Gordillo’s arrest, which will hopefully
have a deterrent effect for future corruption. Recently, Carlos Romero
Deschamps, who heads the oil workers’ union, bought a Ferrari for his son,
raising eyebrows and suspicions that he will be the next to be arrested on
charges of embezzlement and corruption.
In February, President Peña Nieto also enacted sweeping
education reform that took control over teacher hiring and promotions out of
the hands of the union. By centralizing the process of teacher employment away
from the union, Peña Nieto hopes to create a merit-based system by which bad
teachers are fired or reprimanded and good teachers are promoted. If he can
manage to reform the oil and security industries as well, he will have made
great strides to a less corrupt, better-governed Mexico.
The obvious obstacles of the drug war, rampant corruption,
and party disagreements will continue to stand in Peña Nieto’s way as he
embarks on a path of reform. Yet the fact that he seems to have embarked at all
should give those who questioned his election at least a glimmer of hope for a
more peaceful Mexico.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-mexico-got-back-in-the-game.html?_r=0
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